Project Quotes

When you contact me asking me for a project quote, I will ask you about the following:

Type of book (scholarly, technical, trade)?

Audience expertise on the subject (expert, average, basic)?

Length of work (number of pages)?

When will I receive the page proofs?

When shall I return the index to you?

If I find errors in the text, shall I notify you immediately or wait until indexing is complete?

I will also ask questions about your preferred index styles. Many publishers prefer to send me an index style guide or a copy of an index that they like. If you don’t have preferences, I will make decisions about the style of your index based on what is appropriate to the text.

Time and Fee Estimates

After our discussion of the project, I will give you a rate quote and time estimate. Fees vary for every project. Why? Because books vary greatly in depth and complexity. Some of the most common issues that affect fees are subject matter, quality of writing and editing, audience level of expertise, my level of subject expertise, and my schedule. A 200 page book about Microsoft Exchange Server written for network administrators is going to cost more to index than a 200 page book about the history of tattoos written for the average Joe. The technical book will take more time, more energy, and more expertise than the book on tattoos.

My fees often vary for different projects for the same client: a technical manual for programmers is quite different than a users manual for novice users. Generally speaking, when I charge per indexable page, my fees range between $4 and $6 per page.

Time estimates also vary, for many of the same reasons. Generally speaking, I need approximately one week (5 business days) for every 200 pages of text.

Contact me as soon as you realize you need an indexer. This provides the best chance of getting your project on my schedule.

Contractual Information

Once the terms of the project are agreed upon, I will send you a contract which you need to sign and return to me.